Zou wins parallel bars gold as gymnastics worlds conclude

Zou Jingyuan of team China competes during the men's team final at Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2026 in Rotterdam, the Netherland, Oct. 20, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

China claimed men's parallel bars gold through Zou Jingyuan and women's balance beam silver through Zhang Qingying on Sunday, as five apparatus finals brought the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships to a close.

Zou successfully defended his title with 15.733 points, finishing 0.833 ahead of Croatia's Illia Kovtun. Russia's Daniel Marinov claimed bronze with 14.866.

The two-time Olympic champion combined a difficulty score of 6.000 with an execution mark of 9.633 and a 0.100 bonus. Kovtun matched his difficulty but posted an execution score of 8.900.

The victory gave the 28-year-old his fifth world parallel bars title, extending his record after winning his fourth in Jakarta last year.

The women's balance beam final was decided by an execution tiebreak, with Algeria's Kaylia Nemour edging defending champion Zhang after both scored 14.566.

Zhang, competing last, performed a routine with a difficulty score of 6.500, compared with Nemour's 6.300. However, Nemour's execution mark of 8.266 put her ahead of Zhang's 8.066.

Brazil's Flavia Saraiva took bronze with 14.300, while China's Qiu Qiyuan finished seventh with 13.633. Nemour's victory completed a golden double following her uneven bars triumph on Saturday.

Armenia's Artur Davtyan won men's vault gold with a two-vault average of 14.850. Britain's Jake Jarman took silver with 14.650, ahead of Norway's Sebastian Sponevik on 14.366.

Chinese Taipei's Tang Chia-hung captured the men's horizontal bar title with 14.966. Japan's Oka Shinnosuke and Russia's Sergei Naidin both scored 14.800, with Oka taking silver on execution.

The United States secured a one-two finish in the women's floor exercise. Claire Pease won with 13.866 ahead of teammate Reese Esponda's 13.566. France's Maiana Prat earned bronze with 13.466, edging Britain's Abigail Martin on execution after the pair finished level on total points.

China ended the championships with three golds, two silvers and two bronzes. Its women reclaimed the team title for the first time since 2006, while Lan Xingyu won rings gold on Saturday. Yang Haonan took men's all-around silver, while the men's team and women's all-around gymnast Ke Qinqin contributed bronze medals.

Japan retained the men's team crown, while Daiki Hashimoto won his fourth consecutive world all-around title. American Skye Blakely captured the women's all-around championship before adding bronze medals on vault and uneven bars.

The championships also awarded the first artistic gymnastics team berths for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Japan, Russia and China qualified in the men's competition, while China, the United States and Japan secured women's team berths.

Next year's World Championships will be held in Chengdu, China.